Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-12-02
WOMAN AND HOME.
HOW SOCIETY MOTHERS ARE SUP
PILED WITH WET NURSES.

in the Dishcloth-Boxing Children's
Ears--IIow Women Rest-Saucc for Bat
tercakes-Hints FOR the Household.
On West Forty second street is II modest
little establishment kept 10y Swiss and his
wife The man is about 33 years old, of gen
tlemanlv demeanor and always plainly but
neatly dressed His wife, who appears to be
about six years younger than he, is II pre-
possessing woman of full figure ami bland
manners The business conducted 10y these
people is peculiar, and their establishment is
probably the only one of the kind in New
IcrS it not in the United States. At least Il
Exporter failed to find its counterpart here,
alter considerable search, and the proprietor
sand he did not know of any rival in the city
The business is done in two rooms. The
main or front room is furnished something
like n sitting room and is the reception room
tor visitors The second and rear room is
used for examinations The business con-
Quoted here is the supplying of wet nurses.
The supplying of wet nurses or foster
mothers for infants in New York. said the
proprietor, "wil now become big industry
Heretofore parents had considerable trouble
be imposed upon 10y advcnturcsses. You
know that it has always been popular
superstition, and even an adagc, that like
father like son. and over half the world be-
lieveS in heredity. They also believe that
faults and temper are received 10y the child
from the mother who nurses it, Accepting
th, common belief rs having much of truth.
how important it is then to he careful in the
selection of a nurse who is to nurture the
babe. This is not the only cause for the exi,-
tence of n bureau where nurses can he SUP
piled. The vanity of women, the demands of
society, and several other reasons noccssitate
it. Society women nowadays, and in fact
always, have objected to the duties of ma
ternity. Many of them dislike to raise chill
dren on the bottle, and children often have
strong and unconquerable objection to it
themselves. There are a thousand kinds of
infant food, Il great many of them cheap and
even dangerous nostrums, and the ills of
babes are frequently attributable to poor
food Now we avoid all difficulties and sup
ply women morally and physically healthy
to mothers who object to nursing their own
Infants
How do you get them"
1--WE have agents who visit the villages
and farms near the city and the hospitals
We take none but the healthest women and
guarantee their character. a number of the
most reputable physicians i'll the city have
Endorsed our work. Here, you see, are some
of the Endorsements"
He showed the reporter several certificates
signed by well known physicians recon-
mending the institution as a needed innova-
ton.
"How many of these women do YOU ordi-
narlv have on handf
Usually about dozen. You have no idea
OF hos we have increased the volume of our
business since we started here, IA little over a
year ago. Yes, we usually have "A dozen and
sometimes more, and we don't keep them on
hand long either. Applications are coming
i'll all the time, and we have recently in
creased our force of agents.
How do the people proceed who want
such patelna hclp.'
''Well, if the mother of an infant is unable
to nurse it, or refuses to do so for fear of dis
figuring her form or missing social entertain-
ments, she gets her husband to look around
for a substitute OF course the bottle is used
Il great deal, but babies won't always take the
bottle strong, healthy human substitute
Is the best Instead of advertising through
the newspapers and getting woman whose
connections, life and antecedcnts are bad
thus cndangering the moral character of the
child ne comes 10 us VINO are responsible 1OT
the nurses we supply. He is accompanied 10y
the family physician. The nurses are brought
out, and after looking them over the father
or the doctor selects one. She is then taken
into the other room and thoroughly exam
med by the doctor as to her health and gen
eral physical condition, and samples of hel
milk are taken to be analysed. If everything
is satisfactory she is selected"
Chow do you get your pay
Both parties pay us. We get fee frou
the people needing nurse, and she pays us q
commission on her wages"
How are these nurses procuredl Do Their
own children die or do they abandon them
"Sumctimes their children die: but many
Of them are poor country women whose hus
band or family has COW, upon the milk OF
which her own child is fed, while She come,
to the city to make good wages by nursing
some other woman's child. She can make
more money in nine months or 50 than her
husband and the entire family could earn il
two years. If they have all the qualifica
tions demanded by the parents Of the child t.
be nursed, and the people are rich, they viii
pay high prices 1t is not at all unusual fol
these women to get $40 and so month
board included, and handsome presents
Where did this business originated
Il am not sure about the locality of il,
origin, but it has existed and fourished il
Paris for years We brought it from there
My wife's first child died soon after its birth
and she became wet nurse through one o.
these bureaus which are SO plentiful in al
the big cities Of France. New York Even
ing Sun.
DINNER Giving" as a Profession.
Among the many occupations invented by
impecuniOus women as a means Of support
probably the most original is that Of wo
man of 30 who had been for several years n
the head of her fathers luxurious establish